A SAMUEL FRENCH, INC. TITLE

Yellow

Full-Length Play, Dramatic Comedy  /  2w, 1m, 1girl(s), 2boy(s)

A year in the life of what seems to be the perfect family, whose foundations are rocked to the breaking point by an unexpected tragedy.

  • Cast Size
    Cast Size
    2w, 1m, 1girl(s), 2boy(s)
  • Duration
    Duration
    120 minutes (2 hours)
  • Suggested Use
    • Scene work
  • Audience
    Target Audience
    Adult, Teen (Age 14 - 18)
Accolades
Accolades
  • WINNER! 2012 Los Angeles Drama Critics Circle Ted Schmitt Award, Best World Premiere Play
    WINNER! 2012 Los Angeles Drama Critics Circle Award, Best Production 

Details

Summary

Yellow chronicles a year in the life of the perfect family in Vicksburg, Mississippi. Bobby Westmoreland, a high school football coach, and his wife Kate, a respected therapist, have two ambitious children in high school. Their son Dayne is the golden football star while their daughter Gracie is an overly-dramatic actress. Gracie’s best friend is a young gay boy, Kendall, who is at constant odds with his abusive, fundamentalist mother, Sister Timothea. The play opens with the start of the football season and high school auditions for “Oklahoma.” Everything falls apart when an unexpected tragedy rocks the Westmoreland family to the breaking point. Yellow explores the themes of cowardice, intolerance and the damage caused to families by secrets, rejection and the difficulty of forgiveness.

A departure from the comedy of earlier works, Del Shores’ Yellow is the award-winning playwright’s most dramatic play to date. The play was one of the most awarded Los Angeles plays of 2010, winning Los Angeles Drama Critics Circle Awards for Best Production and Best World Premiere Play.

History

 

Yellow was first presented by Louise Beard, Emerson Collins, Jason Dottley, and Del Shores for JD3atrical Prods. at the Coast Playhouse in Santa Monica, California, on June 11, 2012. It was directed by the author.

BOBBY WESTMORELAND - 40’s. A football coach and family man. Easy-going, laidback, still handsome and in shape. 
KATE WESTMORELAND - 40’s. A therapist. Strong-willed, opinionated, smart, sexual and pretty. Great mom, runs her house. 
DAYNE WESTMORELAND - 17. A high school senior. This family’s golden boy. Confident and very handsome. The best fullback to come out of the state of Mississippi. 
GRACIE WESTMORELAND - 15. An overly-dramatic high school sophomore who is consumed with acting and sibling rivalry. 
KENDALL PARKER - 15. Effeminate, too pretty to be a boy. Wise beyond his years. He escapes his fundamentalist mother through his love for theatre.
SISTER TIMOTHEA PARKER - 40’s. A conservative, crazy religious fundamentalist

In the orginal production, the two teens were played by actors in their early 20s. 

  • Time Period Contemporary, Present Day
  • Setting

    The Westmoreland Home in Vicksburg, Mississippi.

  • Features Contemporary Costumes / Street Clothes
  • Additional Features Not Applicable
  • Duration 120 minutes (2 hours)
  • Cautions
    • Strong Language
    • Mild Adult Themes
    • Smoking

Media

REVIEWS

"Shores has written a darker play than usual, sadder in its view of human folly but wiser in its openness to the forgiveness and generosity of spirit that often make life tolerable. As always with this accomplished playwright, there's never a dull moment onstage." - The Hollywood Reporter, Read More 

"...this powerfully moving work points to exciting new creative directions for a gifted playwright." - Backstage, Read More 

"Yellow is a rippingly entertaining show..." - LA Weekly, Read More 

 

Licensing & Materials

  • Minimum Fee: $110 per performance

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Authors

Del Shores

Del Shores is the writer/director/producer of the films Sordid Lives, Blues for Willadean, Southern Baptist Sissies and A Very Sordid Wedding. He wrote and executive produced the MGM feature Daddy's Dyin'...Who's Got The Will? His plays Cheatin’, Daddy’s Dyin’ (Who’s Got The ...

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